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Talking Heads: Swansea City v Arsenal

Before and after every first-team fixture our MatchDay Show team - and an Arsenal blogger - will have their say on the match.

Arsenal take on Swansea in the Premier League on Sunday and our Talking Heads for this game were Dan Roebuck, Adrian Clarke and Andrew Mangan of Arseblog.

Read on for their post-match thoughts and recap what they said before the game.

Dan Roebuck - Arsenal Live

DAN ROEBUCK, COMMENTATORA few weeks ago I thought Arsenal were nailed-on to finish in the top four but I'm not so sure now. They haven't really hit the heights since that December win at Wigan in terms of performance but, until the New Year, they still managed to pick up points. But at Fulham and Swansea they have been punished severely for making mistakes. Yes, Arsenal had their chances but they switched off after making it 2-2 and that kind of thing cannot happen if Champions League football is going to be secured. I thought Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain looked bright when he came off the bench while Aaron Ramsey was at the heart of much of Arsenal's better moments. But overall this was a below-par performance.

Premier League fans across the country should surely be looking forward to what promises to be an attractive game between two very good footballing sides. Swansea were a media cliché for "playing the right way" when they first arrived in this division - but so far they have been true to their word. In essence I think this will be incredibly tight and ultimately it will all come down to which side can control possession. Both like to do it, but neither will have it all their own way at the Liberty Stadium. Something niggling inside me suggests a goalless draw, but Arsenal will be desperate to claw their pride back from the defeat at Craven Cottage so I'll plump for a tight 1-0 win.

Adrian Clarke

ADRIAN CLARKE, STUDIO GUESTIt was a huge disappointment to lose this match but I wouldn’t argue that Swansea City didn’t deserve the three points. The home side seemed to show more appetite, they passed the ball better and they also worked incredibly hard to unsettle the Gunners whenever they had possession of the ball. This was a magnificent display by the Welsh side. From an Arsenal perspective although we were unlucky to concede a debatable penalty the second and third goals featured defensive errors that Arsène Wenger won’t have been happy about at all. Going forward the side looked disjointed at times too. Scoring goals isn’t the problem though; away from home Arsenal must become a much more solid unit if they are to push on for a top-four finish.

After the magical climax to Monday’s FA Cup clash, we now have a beautiful football match to look forward to at the Liberty Stadium. For once, Arsenal may have to surrender large swathes of possession to the opposition who have proven to be pretty formidable at home this season and out wide especially I think Swansea City have two dangerous players who are capable of giving the Gunners’ makeshift full-backs problems. If Arsenal can remain organised and work hard to protect their full-backs I still believe they have too much firepower for Welshmen though. Fresh from a break in Dubai, Robin van Persie will be bright and as we witnessed so memorably at the Emirates, there is always Thierry Henry around to add a touch of quality in front of goal if required. The key to winning this clash will be matching Swansea’s work ethic and being much more clinical than they have been recently in the final third.

Blog - Arseblog

ANDREW MANGAN, ARSEBLOGThe early goal should have given us a good platform on which to build a strong performance. Instead we were hindered firstly by a very dubious penalty award but secondly, and more crucially, by our own errors. In the cold light of day Swansea's second and third goals were preventable and on top of that we missed some glorious chances ourselves. Robin should have made it 2-1 in the first half, Arshavin blazed over early in the second while I'm still trying to figure out how Per Mertesacker missed from three yards. It's easy to understand why the manager bemoaned the opportunities we spurned. The defeat itself is worrying and makes our fight for a top-four finish even more difficult. I'd love to see the squad boosted before the end of the month, it does feel like we need something extra to get us going again.

The euphoria of Monday night was fantastic, something that will live long in the memories of fans, but for the team there can be no dwelling on it. Our last league fixture brought the disappointment of lost points at Fulham and it's crucial we get ourselves back on track on Sunday. Those who look at Swansea as newly-promoted cannon fodder are wide of the mark. They're a tough, hard-working side who have only conceded four goals at home this season, and as we're not finding the target with the regularity we might like at the moment, chances have to be taken when they come. Hopefully the boost of the FA Cup win, along with the rested Robin van Persie, will be enough for us take a very much needed three points. I think it's difficult, but doable.

* The views expressed in Talking Heads do not necessarily reflect those of Arsenal Football Club or Arsenal Broadband Ltd.

Copyright 2015 The Arsenal Football Club plc. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source16 Jan 2012

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